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	ARTICLES ABOUT BETH'S ALBUM "OUT OF SEASON" Album Review - THE INDEPENDENT Is it really five years since we last heard the voice of Beth Gibbons? If you hadn't noticed that she's been away, perhaps that's because she was never quite there in the first place. Portishead's reluctant Piaf always had a presence as spectral as the wisps of smoke which used to float up from the cigarettes she clutched as she sang. The distinction between a singer and a pop star is comparable to that between actress and film star. Beth Gibbons is essentially a singer, and indeed, in one sense, an actress too. Out of Season, her first solo record, recorded with her old friend and former Talk Talk bassist Paul Webb (under the guise Rustin Man), sees Beth adopt a variety of different personae, narrating each song from a different perspective, sometimes even a male one, dwelling on themes of mortality and isolation, frequently using metaphors drawn from nature. Each time, she employs a different "voice" (in both sense of the word), from a whisper to a scream. It comes as no surprise that she will soon be working with David Lynch. Those of you who have worn their copy of Dummy razor-thin will be glad to hear that she's also working with Geoff Barrow on a new Portishead record, due next year. For now, there's Out of Season - a subtle, beat-less, breathtakingly beautiful melange of soul, folk and jazz - and for tonight's 55-minute set, it's all about Beth. This naturally, makes her uncomfortable at first. She opens with "Mysteries", a melancholy, Nico-esque number featuring the strumming of Portishead colleague Adrian Utley, but it's two songs before she opens her eyes and makes faltering attempts to communicate with the crowd. During "Tom the Model", a rare moment of loudness, she has to repress a fit of the giggles when she forgets her own lyrics. By the finale, her confidence has grown. After a powerful, impassioned "Funny Time Of Year", she surprises us all by climbing down off the stage, poncing a fag and a light from the front row, and shaking everyone's hands. "I hope it was OK" she says in parting. Not bad, Beth. Not bad at all. S Price, The Independent - 20 October 2002
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ARTICLES ABOUT BETH'S ALBUM "OUT OF SEASON"

Album Review - THE INDEPENDENT

Is it really five years since we last heard the voice of Beth Gibbons? If you hadn't noticed that she's been away, perhaps that's because she was never quite there in the first place. Portishead's reluctant Piaf always had a presence as spectral as the wisps of smoke which used to float up from the cigarettes she clutched as she sang.

The distinction between a singer and a pop star is comparable to that between actress and film star. Beth Gibbons is essentially a singer, and indeed, in one sense, an actress too. Out of Season, her first solo record, recorded with her old friend and former Talk Talk bassist Paul Webb (under the guise Rustin Man), sees Beth adopt a variety of different personae, narrating each song from a different perspective, sometimes even a male one, dwelling on themes of mortality and isolation, frequently using metaphors drawn from nature. Each time, she employs a different "voice" (in both sense of the word), from a whisper to a scream. It comes as no surprise that she will soon be working with David Lynch.

Those of you who have worn their copy of Dummy razor-thin will be glad to hear that she's also working with Geoff Barrow on a new Portishead record, due next year. For now, there's Out of Season - a subtle, beat-less, breathtakingly beautiful melange of soul, folk and jazz - and for tonight's 55-minute set, it's all about Beth. This naturally, makes her uncomfortable at first. She opens with "Mysteries", a melancholy, Nico-esque number featuring the strumming of Portishead colleague Adrian Utley, but it's two songs before she opens her eyes and makes faltering attempts to communicate with the crowd.

During "Tom the Model", a rare moment of loudness, she has to repress a fit of the giggles when she forgets her own lyrics. By the finale, her confidence has grown. After a powerful, impassioned "Funny Time Of Year", she surprises us all by climbing down off the stage, poncing a fag and a light from the front row, and shaking everyone's hands. "I hope it was OK" she says in parting. Not bad, Beth. Not bad at all.

S Price, The Independent - 20 October 2002

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